'You Mean Softball?
Host
Steve Hendershot
What happens when a girl decides she loves baseball instead of softball? What happens if she turns out to be great? The stories of MLB draft pick Carey Schueler and former pro pitcher Ila Borders illustrate the challenges women face when they pursue American’s National Pastime.
Show Notes
The beginning montage featured two youth players interviewed at the 2025 Baseball For All “Nationals” tournament in Sparks, Nevada, near Reno. The clips of Beth Greenwood and Justine Siegal also came from interviews at Nationals. My family went to the tournament in part so my daughter could play in the tournament, and in part so I could be there as a reporter. We had a great experience in both respects, and were stunned by the high level of baseball on display. (Semi-local recommendation: we ate at the Great Basin Brewing Company in Sparks at least four times that week. We kept talking about mixing it up, but when you’ve found a place everyone loves …)
Rachel Gansner, my friend and the founder of the Warren Park Girls Baseball League in Chicago, joined me for the interviews with Carey Schueler (in person), and Ila Borders, Morgan Zerkle and Jennifer Ring (online). I also interviewed Bill Savage in person and Amira Hondras online.
A few other resources that informed this episode:
Ila Borders’ autobiography Making My Pitch: A Woman’s Baseball Odyssey, cowritten with Jean Hastings Ardell
Peter Levine’s biography of A.G. Spalding, A.G. Spalding and the Rise of Baseball
Jennifer Ring’s book Stolen Bases
Spalding’s own book, Base Ball: America’s National Game 1839-1915 (There’s a section in the episode where I read a few lines from the book. I had a great time playing with Soundtoys’ Little AlterBoy audio plugin to make my voice sound a bit more like a 1910 orator.)
I referenced a bunch of baseball movies during the episode. A League Of Their Own, of course … but my two other favs from that era are The Natural and Field of Dreams.